By Mike Moore
Sports Correspondent
It’s a whole lot easier to reach the peak when you have players who remember how to get there. That’s the case for the Burlington High School girls soccer team.
Coming off the school’s first conference championship in girls soccer, the Demons have the pieces in place for another memorable season. This spring, 19 letterwinners have returned from the team that went 8-1 in the Southern Lakes Conference (13-5-1 overall) and made it to the regional final in 2013.
The returnees include 10 seniors, providing a level of veteran leadership that’s unprecedented in Coach Joel Molitor’s memory.
Combine that with Burlington’s talent level, and the third-year head coach expects the squad to challenge for a second straight SLC title and potentially make waves in the postseason.
“We are strong at all positions on the field. I’ve never had this much depth on a soccer team I have coached,” he wrote in an email. “Team selection and rotation is going to be challenging, but it’s a good problem to have.”
The Demons did lose two players to graduation: starting goalkeeper Tanya Schilling and reserve striker Morganne Brown. But a host of familiar faces offset those departures.
One of them is Merin Mundt, the team’s top goal scorer as a freshman last season. After she shifted to central striker on her club team, Molitor envisions another strong offensive output from her. Others expected to share the scoring load include Katie Travis, Jackie Vergara, and Maddy Harry.
On the back end, Tegan Rock and Sydney McCourt solidify the center of the defense. Molitor said the two girls flanking them, Madi Ibarra and Kit Kocha, offer plenty of speed on the wings. The new season offers Ibarra a return to health after she dealt with a leg injury.
So far, Molitor likes what he has seen of the teamwork among returning midfielders Alli Zeman and Lindsay Kraemer and newcomer Ashlyn Barry. A few others who started or contributed heavily last season are sprinkled in again.
The Burlington girls soccer program has drawn significant interest from the younger students, too. Molitor estimates 50 girls intend to try out.
“Most of the returning players have had positive experiences in the program, and we get a steady stream of players from the leagues in Burlington and the select clubs towards Milwaukee,” he wrote. “It’s a good balance.”
On Saturday, the Demons tuned up with scrimmages against Wauwatosa West and Slinger at Whitefish Bay High School. Although scores aren’t kept, the live action gave Molitor a chance to identify how his lineup will come together. He particularly got to see how Barry and fellow freshman Hannah Anderson would fit into that picture.
Burlington’s season officially opens Thursday with a home game at 6:30 p.m. against Kenosha Indian Trail.
-
-
-
-
-